Offering a Landscape of the Bioscience Industry in NYC

Dr. Nathan Tinker, executive director of the New York Biotechnology Association, recently delivered “Building Biotech in NYC: If You Make It Here, Can You Really Make It Anywhere?” in LeFrak Auditorium. An audience largely comprised of graduate students and postdocs, along with staff members from the offices of biotechnology and business development, attended the special event co-hosted by two Einstein clubs, the newly established Entrepreneurship & Biotechnology Club and the Career & Professional Development Club.

During his talk, Dr. Tinker offered a rundown on the current landscape of the bioscience industry within New York City. He also drew comparisons to other bioscience clusters throughout the nation as he detailed facts, figures and statistics illustrating the wealth of bioscience research being developed in New York.

In noting the large potential workforce in New York – NYC graduates more bioscience Ph.D.s than any other U.S. city – Dr. Tinker acknowledged that these graduates currently face a dearth of commercial bioscience opportunities locally. He then addressed important questions, such as what New York can do to establish a world-class commercial bioscience cluster; what opportunities and challenges exist in re-envisioning New York's bioscience culture; and what New York's bioscience students and postdocs can do in order to prepare for opportunities.

Dr. Tinker concluded that he believes the future of the bioscience industry in New York looks bright and is poised to boom in the next few years. His presentation stirred a succession of questions from members of the audience, many of whom remained after the event for further discussion.

The hosting clubs plan to offer a variety of events focusing on bioscience technology and business development, as well as information on career avenues outside of, or related to, academic science that are open to graduate students and postdocs. Their next event, featuring a panel of representatives from the offices of biotechnology and business development, will offer discussion of technology transfer from the bench to market. It is scheduled for Thursday, April 11, at 5:30 p.m., in Price Center/Block Pavilion Room 351.